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Friday, November 25, 2011

Heartbeat

Kamala: The spinning of the pedals is the heartbeat of the road.
We're drawn to it and feel guilty if we don't do it. The slowly-passing
landscapes seep into our souls. Years later when traveling a route by a
gas-fueled motor, we remember the details, like where we sat, where we changed
a flat, where we saw sheep, and oh yes, that hill (up or down). The trips take
us back to a simple life where we can no longer hide from the elements but work
with it as we experience each tier of our hierarchy of needs. Shelter behind a
wall that shields us from the wind while we eat lunch becomes sanctuary. Our
muscles are our engine that powers us forward. The earth passes beneath our
wheels. Mountains become hills then transition to flat plains. Life issues are
debriefed through therapeutic conversation.
All bicycle touring trips are odysseys. Just like that of Odysseus, our
epic adventures include pleasure, villains, traps, challenges, and struggles.

A little over half of this year's 700-mile two-wheeled
journey was over roads we've pedaled before. The last part was new. The old
hilly foes of Alamosa and Nogal Canyons shrunk to reality and posed no new
challenge. We let the wind's influence be our guide this trip. We were coming
home sooner but the wind had different ideas. When we could only muster 3 mph
we both said, “Forget this!” We turned around and decided to see where it led
us. Magically, we were blown to our trail's end in Amarillo to Charley's
cousin's home where we visited Oklahoma farm memories, family histories, and
his 99-year old aunt. We transitioned to a mini-van and brought us and our gear
home to plan our next two-wheeled adventure.